3 Scenarios for ZTF's Much-Anticipated Return to Battle
Sometime during Saturday's Washington-UCLA football game, there's a good chance Husky Stadium public-address announcer Eric Rasmussen will lean into his microphone from his perch high above the field and make the following pronouncement.
"Now at outside linebacker for the Huskies, Zion Tu-u-u-p-p-p-u-o-o-o-l-l-l-a-a-a-Fetui!"
Cue to a thundering ovation from the 50,000-plus in the metal stands who are willing to brave the rain and the night-time chill coming in off Lake Washington, and who still believe in Jimmy Lake.
For two weeks now, the Husky football coach has provided teasing updates on this normally prolific edge rusher known as "ZTF," as if Lake is practically willing his game-changing player to make a triumphant return from his Achilles tendon tear and surgery against the Bruins (4-2 overall, 2-1 Pac-12).
"He's week to week."
"He's practicing in full pads."
"He looks great."
What Lake didn't share is how much he needs this high-spirited player back on the field as soon as possible, anything to perk up his malingering and underachieving Washington football team (2-3, 1-1) and make it the consistent winner that everyone expected in the first place.
Some NFL analysts consider the 6-foot-4, 260-pound Tupuola-Fetui the highest projected draft selection on the Washington roster, even more elevated than the desired cornerback Trent McDuffie, offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland and tight end Cade Otton.
However, Lake has made the possibility of ZTF playing such a strong storyline, it's hard to fathom the sophomore from Pearl City, Hawaii — yes, he grew up looking out on one of the world's most famous battlefields — not getting into the game for at least a handful of snaps against UCLA.
"He's making progress," Husky outside linebackers Ikaika Malloe said this week of the player's availability. "But I don't know that answer."
While that damaged heel becoming functional again is all that really matters, Tupuola-Fetui will return 15-20 pounds lighter than he was in 2020, when he piled up 7 sacks in 4 games (leading the nation in sacks per game). The orange-haired one was duly inspired to change his body shape to something leaner after witnessing former teammate and current NFL rookie Joe Tryon undergo a similar transformation and have instantaneous pro football success.
Keeping all of this in mind, the following are three imagined scenarios involving the possible return of the former first-team All-Pac-12 selection against UCLA on a challenging night weather-wise and competitively:
4 Snaps
ZTF enters the game late in the second quarter, with the Huskies trailing 14-7 and urgently in need of a defensive boost, and he plays a 3-and-out series, just to take his his repaired left wheel out for a test drive. He drops UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson for his first sack in 11 months and retreats to the sideline to a second ovation.
Yet that's it for him on this night, with the UW coaching staff unwilling to gamble much more on the health of a player who likely won't throttle back and ease himself in. At the same time, he might not have a whole lot to offer the Huskies in the way of endurance right away.
"Can't expect a kid coming off an Achilles tendon tear to immediately return back to form," former Husky running back Lee Neal cautioned fans this week on social media. "You have guys on here thinking we are going to get the same kid he was prior to getting hurt."
10 Snaps
Knowing this to be true, that Tupuola-Fetui is coming out of a seven-month recovery period that normally takes up to 10 months, Lake instead sends him in early in the fourth quarter of a game the UW now trails 20-7, just to shake off the rust and shake things up.
Again, ZTF plays a single series against the Bruins, but this one lasts 10 plays before it ends abruptly with the mended Husky standout strip-sacking Thompson-Robinson and taking a sweeping bow as he exits.
"The UCLA fumble caused and recovered by Tupuola-Fetui!" Rasmussen bellows from the PA booth.
No Snaps
The least popular but safest option here is Tupuola-Fetui coming out in uniform, going through warm-ups and settling in on the sideline to watch his team edge this UCLA team, 21-20. He isn't needed so the coaches have no desire to risk rushing him into action too soon.
The Husky Stadium crowd chants ZTF's initials more than once on Saturday night, but Lake pretends he doesn't hear it and later puts his arm around the idle player's shoulder as they leave the field together.
In the end, the coach decides that Tupuola-Fetui will make a low-key return in one or both of the upcoming road games at Arizona or Stanford, away from the adoring home fans that might incite him to play a little less cautiously and giving him more time to prepare.
In the big picture, the Huskies want to have him as ready as possible to make a big splash if possible against Oregon on November 6 in Seattle. They always need to have all hands on deck to face the dreaded Ducks.
So what will it be for ZTF?
It could be a short series, a longer series or no series for him this weekend.
An uncomfortable scoreboard deficit, the coach's conscience and the player's insistence could all factor in to his return, when and how much.
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